Mark S. Cogan

Mark S. Cogan is an Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies in the College of Foreign Studies at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan. His research interests include Southeast Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific region, as well as security studies, peacebuilding, counter-terrorism, and human rights. He is a former communications specialist with the United Nations, serving in Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East. His most recent peer-reviewed works include “Thailand’s Soft Power Focus and the Makings of a Paradox”, published in the Asian Affairs: An American Review in 2024 as well as being the guest editor of a Special Issue on Thai Foreign Policy for the Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, a professional journal of the Department of the U.S. Air Force. In addition to his research, he has published more than 100 commentaries and policy papers in major newspapers and think tanks, such as East Asia Forum, the Bangkok Post, the South China Morning Post, The Diplomat, The National Interest, and more. His first co-edited volume, “Alternative Approaches on Peacebuilding: Theories and Case Studies”, was published in 2022 with Palgrave MacMillan. His second volume, “Indo-Pacific Diaspora in Peace and Conflict: Unity and Division in the Age of Transnational Repression” is scheduled to be published by Routledge in 2025.